But E-ZPass still doesn’t recognize SunPass. Nor does SunPass talk to E-ZPass. So to avoid long tollbooth lines in the other’s region, we’re forced to open another account and add another transponder to our windshields.

We’re talking simply about one electronic system being able to collect tolls from people registered in another electronic system, then sharing the revenue while protecting driver information.

If SunPass can take photos of drivers’ license plates for later billing, why can’t its leaders create E-ZPass compatibility? It makes you wonder how much money Florida is losing in today’s set-up.

Former Florida Congressman John Mica discovered the glitch one Thanksgiving when he was driving home from Washington D.C. with his E-ZPass card. When he hit the Florida border, his tollbooth-free ride was over.

Because he chaired the committee that oversees highway issues, Mica decided to do something about it. He added a paragraph to the 2012 highway funding authorization that mandated compatibility of electronic toll collection throughout America. Do it by Oct. 1, 2016, the mandate declared.

Florida did work with Georgia and North Carolina on reciprocity, but couldn’t cut a deal with South Carolina. And Texas hooked up with Kansas. But on the whole, the system remains in idle.

It’s not for want of trying, if testimony from all involved is to be believed. Some states have laws that stand in the way of compromise. Plus, toll collection enterprises can cover tunnels, bridges and parking lots, too. Clashing technologies is one obstacle, they say, but the bigger dilemma is the ability to bill the right party and send the collection to the right state, turnpike authority or bridge system.

Still, this is the 21st century. We’ve taken close-up pictures of Saturn, for Pete’s sake.

Members of the Alliance for Toll Interoperability, an association of state transportation leaders formed to address the problem, say lack of funding also is an obstacle. The cost of just a study on compatible technology is $3 million, if you can imagine.

After reviewing hours of testimony and reams of paper describing this failed effort, you can’t help but feel the bureaucracy monster is sucking the air out of it. Imagine what would happen in the face of strong opposition.

While Mica is no longer in office, four members of Florida’s congressional delegation now sit on the U.S. House Transportation Committee. They are: Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach; Frederica Wilson of Miami Gardens; Brian Mast of Palm City in the Treasure Coast; and Daniel Webster of Winter Garden, near Orlando.

Perhaps they could take a drive this Thanksgiving weekend with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Miami, who happens to chair the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation.

We’re confident that given their positions, they could figure out a fix.

We encourage you, too, to encourage Frankel, Wilson, Mast, Webster and Diaz-Balart to press the accelerator. For when it comes to making SunPass compatible with E-ZPass, it’s time to get the lead out.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O'Hara, Elana Simms, Andy Reid, Deborah Ramirez and Editor-in-Chief Howard Saltz.